HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: New spreadback key for Richland Springs

Coyotes eye 3rd straight state title

SAN ANGELO, Texas - If Chance Bush can pick up where former Richland Springs spreadback Denim Reeves left off last season, the top-ranked Coyotes could be poised for a three-peat as Division II six-man state champions.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound senior will try to etch his name in school history and follow the championship footsteps of former Coyote spreadbacks Tyler Ethridge, Haustin Burkhart and Reeves.

"I think Chance Bush is going to be a big playmaker for us," said Richland Springs head coach Jerry Burkhart, who is 120-5 in nine years with the Coyotes. "He's going to be our spreadback, and he's also the all-state defensive MVP.

"He just plays well on both sides of the ball. He's going to be a great player."

The Coyotes won a record-tying fifth sixth-man title in the last eight years in 2011, and coach Burkhart thinks Bush has the potential to be just as good as his predecessors.

"He has a lot of experience, more than what people think, even though he wasn't a starter in that position," Burkhart said of Bush. "We always had a backup plan and he was our guy.

"He's done the same thing for three years that Haustin and Tyler Ethridge did when they were following other spreadbacks."

Burkhart said the Coyotes are in a "reloading stage" this season, but he feels his players are ready to step up to the challenge and uphold Richland Springs' tradition.

"We don't just look at it as new kids coming up," Burkhart said. "These kids have been here. They may not have been the starters, but when they're going against one of the best teams in the state every day on the scout team, that's only going to make them better."

Complementing Bush in the backfield will be senior quarterback Thomas Fowler and running back Ty Mann.

Defensively, the Coyotes are going to rely heavily on players such as Gunner Mann, Ty Mann and Fowler, in addition to Bush.

Freshman linebacker/fullback Brian Salinas is expected to be a starter and a big contributor on both sides of the ball.

"He plays hard and we're excited to see what he can do," Burkhart said of Salinas.

Burkhart said the Coyotes may have a little different look offensively than they had the past couple of years.

"We're going to change our offense to fit our personnel," Burkhart said. "There were some things that we could do last year that we probably might not be able to do. We like to adjust our offense around our kids, even our defense."

One thing the Coyotes can't afford is to have key players go down with an injury.

"The only thing that we have that I feel is a concern right now is we only have 12 to 15 players, and we've been used to having about 20," Burkhart said. "We're not sure we're going to have a (junior varsity) yet."

With their rich tradition and slew of state titles, the Coyotes have gotten used to being the team that everybody aims at.

"Us being No. 1 in the state, it does put a bull's eye on our chest," Burkhart said. "Our kids have the mindset that every week somebody's coming after us. We always tell them, 'The harder we work, the luckier we get.' "

And the Richland Springs coaches do everything in their power to keep things in perspective and not let the team's success go to the players' heads.

"God's blessed us so much," Burkhart said. "We emphasize God in our program, and we read scriptures every day to these kids."